{"id":30670,"date":"2025-08-21T11:32:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T15:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=30670"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:48:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T23:48:30","slug":"the-fight-is-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/the-fight-is-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fight Is On"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe Fight Is On<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The train has left the station<\/span><\/em>
\nAnd I can see the track.<\/span><\/em>
\nBut I don’t know if I’m looking forward<\/span><\/em>
\nOr if I’m looking back.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve walked so many trails, so many miles, that looking back on them feels like a blur. Never did I imagine this spring that things would change so drastically. I\u2019ve missed most of the summer walks, and now it looks like I\u2019ll miss the crisp, bright autumn leaves that I\u2019ve grown to love so much.<\/span><\/p>\n

Life has a funny way of throwing us a curveball just when we forget how frail we are. Perhaps that’s the point\u2014a reminder of our vulnerability, no matter how rich, powerful, or healthy we may be. We are all living by the grace of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

For five years, I’ve walked over 8,000 miles, tramping through the cold and snow, the heat and sun, and reveling in the golden hues of autumn. I never thought about a beginning or an end\u2014not the first mile, nor the last one before I fell ill. I simply took it all for granted. We live as if each day will be just like the one before, not giving a second thought to the idyllic chain of good fortune until something breaks it.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to deflect and look away from the suffering all around us, and it\u2019s not because we are callous. We have to focus on our own lives. I never turned a blind eye to the sick, but it\u2019s hard to truly empathize when you\u2019re healthy. When your own health starts to fail, an alarm goes off in your head. The older you are, the bigger the fight becomes, and you can\u2019t help but wonder how much time and fight you have left.<\/span><\/p>\n

You muster all the resolve you can and you fight on, because what else can you do? The walking trails don\u2019t wait, but I hope they\u2019ll be there if I can ever return. Here in August, I wonder if I\u2019ll ever smell the crackling brightness of autumn on the trail again. I like to think so, but I have a bit of a fight ahead of me, and some days I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m up to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

All those walks came to an end in July when I started feeling ill. At first, I thought it was just Covid, but the sickness never went away. I lost my appetite and my energy. I was so sore I could hardly stand up, let alone walk. I let myself sink into an abyss of sickness, ignoring all the warning signs until one day, my family gave me no choice. They took me to the hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n

After five days of treatments, medicines, and tests, they let me come home. I was a shell of the man I was just a few months ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

My walking stick leans against the wall, alone, waiting for me. <\/span><\/p>\n

And I wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fight is on. I\u2019m trying to muster the will to fight and win. It\u2019s not easy at my age to conquer such a mountain of ailments, but I refuse to feel sorry for myself. I have more to do. I may have to make adjustments; I may have to give in a little. I may never walk four or five miles a day again, or walk the beautiful trail under the striking, bright blue canopy of autumn. But I will try. I will fight. I will give it all I have. If I only win a partial victory, I still win. And if I don\u2019t, at least I tried.<\/span><\/p>\n

I made the mistake of taking life for granted, and no one should ever do that. Every day, every moment, is golden. These moments will never come again. I\u2019m gearing up for the fight, and while fatigue and weakness sometimes rear their ugly heads and knock me down, I won’t be discouraged. It\u2019s my battle to win or lose\u2014and I’m going to give it everything I have. If I lose, I lose. If I win, then I win more than just a victory; I win a big part of my life back. <\/span><\/p>\n

And all along the way, I\u2019ll be thankful for even the smallest victory.\u00a0<\/span>And for all my friends, near and far.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fight is on.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fight Is On The train has left the station And I can see the track. But I don’t know if I’m looking forward Or if I’m looking back. I\u2019ve walked so many trails, so many miles, that looking back on them feels like a blur. Never did I imagine this spring that things would change so drastically.\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30670"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30677,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30670\/revisions\/30677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}